Trump tweets Robert E. Lee quote was a shoutout, taken out of context

President Donald Trump takes questions from a gathering of reporters next to Air Force One at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. President Trump visited the Cincinnati area for a MAGA Rally at the Warren County Fair Grounds in Lebanon, Ohio, Friday night.(Photo: Sam Greene/The Enquirer)Buy Photo

President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to clarify a point he made at the Lebanon rally on Friday.

At the rally, Trump gave a history lesson on the Civil War, telling the story of President Lincoln's relationship with Ulysses S. Grant. In telling the story, he characterized Confederate general Robert E. Lee as "a great general" that Lincoln couldn't beat without Grant, an Ohio native.

“And he went in and knocked the hell out of everyone,” Trump said of Grant. “They said to Lincoln, ‘You can’t use him anymore, he’s an alcoholic’ and Lincoln said, ‘I don’t care if he’s an alcohol, frankly, get me six or seven just like him.’”

Trump tweeted that it was rather "a shoutout to warrior Grant and the great state in which he was born."

NBC News has totally and purposely changed the point and meaning of my story about General Robert E Lee and General Ulysses Grant. Was actually a shoutout to warrior Grant and the great state in which he was born. As usual, dishonest reporting. Even mainstream media embarrassed!

Supports gather outside the shelter as they wait for the arrival of President Donald Trump during a Make America Great Again rally at the warren County Fair Grounds in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

Supporters raise their phones and hands as President Donald Trump takes the stage during a Make America Great Again rally at the warren County Fair Grounds in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

President Donald Trump points toward the press risers in the back of the room during a Make America Great Again rally at the warren County Fair Grounds in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

President Donald Trump points toward the press risers in the back of the room during a Make America Great Again rally at the warren County Fair Grounds in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

Ohio Senator Rob Portman waves as President Donald Trump points his way during a Make America Great Again rally at the warren County Fair Grounds in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

US Representative Brad Wenstrup gives a thumbs up as President Donald Trump points his way during a Make America Great Again rally at the warren County Fair Grounds in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

President Donald Trump steps aside as Representative Jim Renacci speaks during a Make America Great Again rally at the warren County Fair Grounds in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Sam Greene/The Enquirer

John Husted, Ohio Secretary of State and Republican Lt. Governor candidate, speaks during President Donald J. Trump’s Make America Great Again Rally in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Albert Cesare / The Enquirer

Carol Blasingame, of Cincinnati, waives a sign while waiting for the President at President Donald J. Trump's Make America Great Again Rally in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Albert Cesare / The Enquirer